Smells Like Teen Spirit
by writtennotspoken
Summary: When Violet gets sent to live with her dad for the summer, she thinks it'll be boring and pointless. What she doesn't expect , however, is to take in interest her next door neighbors son, Tate. A/N- This is my own take on Violet & Tate but there may be parts from the TV show. (Used to be Summertime Madness)
1. Tate

"Violet, is that you?"

The sound of my Dad's voice filled the empty house, echoing through the hallway. The last time I was in this house was when I lived with both my parents, instead of one. I suppose that once your Dad finds out that your Mom had been cheating on him with his best friend, they get a divorce.

The sad thing about the whole cheating scandal was that my Dad knew deep down that she was doing it, and he done nothing about it until she was caught in the act. Which, by the way, took place in my bed. Not a very motherly thing to do.

Before I even knew that was happening, I was pulled into a bone crushing hug. I was instantly engulfed in his cologne, which smelt the exact same as it did the last time I saw him. Everything was exactly the same.

"Dad," I wheezed, "Can't. Breathe."

He pulled away and smiled, taking in my appearance. "You look so different."

"Thank god for that, I was such an embarrassing 14 year old." I cringed, "I mean, why Mom ever let me wear those outfits in public is beyond me."

"You mean you didn't like the outfits?" He asked, faking a gasp.

"Oh, ha ha. You and I both know that I loved those outfits. Way too much."

"Speaking of outfits, I bought you some new clothes." I rolled my eyes, "And don't worry, I talked your Mom and asked what you like to wear."

I cleared my throat, "You talked to Mom?"

"She called me actually," He mumbled, "She said something about you not having very many friends back home and that it was good for you here. Even if it is just for the summer."

I sighed, "So she told you." It wasn't exactly a big deal that I only had one friend, everyone at school were clones. They all dressed the same, liked the same music, acted the same, everything. Half the time I wouldn't even go to school, it's not like my Mom cared. Every time she got a phone call saying I wasn't there, she would just tell the school that I had the Flu or something.

"You should go up and unpack, you had a long flight."

I nodded, "Is it okay if I miss dinner, I'm kinda tired."

"Yeah, of course." He smiled, "It's good to have you back, Vi."

After I had unpacked the majority of my things and showered, I decided to go outside for some fresh air. The air in California wasn't as stuffy as the air back home in England. The only reason my Mom moved to England was because she wanted to get as far away from my Dad as possible.

As soon as I stepped outside, the stench of cigarette smoke filled my nose. I looked around my garden and the one next to me, trying to find the cause. My eyes traced to the bottom of the garden next door, a boy was sitting on a sun lounger with a cigarette in his hand.

"Hey!" I yelled, trying to get his attention. I knew he heard me because his eyes opened, only to be closed a second later. "I know you can hear me."

He slammed his hand down on the glass table and stood up before walking over to me. His blonde hair shook with every step he took, his brown eyes staring into mine with no emotion. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt with the words 'Normal People Scare Me' in white writing and a pair of black jeans with Chuck Taylors.

He stopped at the opposite side of the gate, only a few inches away from me. His cigarette was still burning in his hand, causing the smell of smoke to get stronger.

"Do you think you could put that out?" I asked, trying to be polite about it.

He rolled his eyes and put the cigarette to his mouth, taking a long drag before throwing it on the ground and stomping it out. "Better?" He asked, the frustration becoming more evident in his voice.

"Not really, you still smell like smoke."

"You're not from around here, are you?" He questioned. His eyebrows rose, causing his hair to rise further up his forehead. I couldn't help but stare at his face; I had never seen someone as attractive as him. Not even in TV shows.

"What makes you think that?"

"Well," He paused, "Your skin is almost as white as your house and I've never seen you around here. Which only means one thing," He let out a fake gasp, "Your Doctor Harmons new lady friend."

"Ew, gross."

"What, scared to admit that you love his old, wrinkly—"

"He's my dad. Not my boyfriend, you asshole." I said, tightening the blanket that was wrapped around my shoulders. As soon as I said it, he started laughing. Soon enough, he was hunched over in laughter, clutching his sides.

"I'm sorry, I thought— that you were— banging him," He breathed out in-between laughs. It took him a few seconds to sober up. He ran a hand through his hair, making it messier than it was before. "So, does that mean you're single?"

"Not for you," I mumbled. I looked up to the sky and saw rain clouds forming above the houses, meaning it was time to go back inside.

I reached over to open the door, only to feel a hand wrap around my wrist. I turned around and saw that the boy was holding my wrist, bending over the fence. "Don't I at least get to know your name? I mean, after all, you were flirting with me for 10 minutes."

"Violet," I said, pulling my wrist free. "What's your name?"

"Tate." He said, his lips curling up into a smile.

"And just for the record. _Tate_. You were the one flirting with me."

Before he could say anything else, I was inside with the door closed. I looked out the window, hiding behind the blinds, trying to see if he was still there. He had resumed his place on the sun lounger with a new cigarette in his hand and an iPod in the other.

I smiled to myself, Tate was different. The good type of different. The type of different that wants to be noticed, and that's exactly what I was going to do. I was going to find out why he was different, even if it took all summer.


	2. Break In

"Violet, can you do me a favour?" My Dad asked, covering the phone with one hand whilst holding some letters in the other. "The mail man just delivered the neighbours mail; do you think you could go give it to them?"

I sighed and took the mail from my Dad's hand before slipping on my shoes and leaving the house.

I knocked on the door and stood back a little. When the door opened, I was greeted by a woman in her late 50's. Her hair was up in some sort of bun and she was wearing a blue dress with a pair of white heels. "You must be Violet."

She ushered me inside, closing the door behind me, causing a loud bang to vibrate through the house.

The house itself wasn't much different to my Dad's. The layout was the same; the only thing that looked different was the furniture and wallpaper. My Dad had gone for a neutral colour theme, sticking to whites and browns. This house had light blue walls with a white border going through the middle.

"So, what brings you here?" She asked.

I handed her the mail , "Uh, the mail guy delivered your stuff to my Dad's house. He sent me to deliver it I guess."

"Oh, how kind." She smiled, "Would you like to stay for some coffee? I just made some before you came, it'll still be nice and hot."

"I should really be getting ba—"

"Nonsense child." She sat me down at the table before pouring me a cup of coffee and sitting it down on front of me, along with some milk and sugar. "Nothing better than a fresh cup of coffee in the morning. Especially after a long flight."

"So, Violet. How old are you?"

"I just turned 17 a few weeks ago."

"I remember when I was 17, I wanted to be on the silver screen." She looked up and smiled. "When I finally got a call from the director, I was heartbroken. Not a lot of people want a pregnant lady for their lead role."

"You have children?"

"Yes, two actually. Tate and Addie."

"Tate's your son?"

"You know Tate?" She asked, sitting her coffee back on the table before stubbing out her cigarette.

The only thing I remember is that we talked for a while and I got in trouble from my Dad for smelling like cigarette smoke. "We talked a little last night."

"How nice," She stood up and took her empty cup over to the sink. "Would you like some more coffee?"

"No thanks. I should probably be getting back to my Dad, he'll be wondering where I am."

She nodded, "My name is Constance by the way. You're free to come and visit anytime you like, my door will always be open."

* * *

"Constance seems nice."

"She is. Very old fashioned though. Doesn't have a TV or internet, thinks it kills children's brains. I have no idea what her kids do for fun, I mean, I always see her son outside but I rarely see her daughter leave. It must be tortured cooped up inside that house."

"Oh."

"Look, I have to leave for work in a few minutes. Are you sure you'll be fine on your own?"

"Dad," I rolled my eyes, "Mom would leave me for days at a time, I think I'll be fine on my own for a few hours."

He nodded, "Do you still have stuff to unpack? I can give you a hand after work if you want."

I shook my head, "It's fine, I don't have a lot of stuff anyway. It should only take a few hours."

"Right," He looked at his watch, "I have to leave but I'll be back in a few hours, I usually get off around 10, sometimes 11. It just depends on how much paper work I have."

"See you later."

He kissed my forehead and smiled, "I love you, Vi. It's good to have you back."

"I love you too and I know, you said that already."

As soon as I heard my Dad's car drive away, the roof made a creaking noise. Usually I wouldn't be scared of anything like that but the fact that it's someone else's house, kinda freaks me out a little. My Dad hadn't mentioned anything about the house making noises.

I waited a few seconds before going upstairs to check what made the noise, making sure not to stand on any noisy floorboards. I could hear shuffling coming from one of the rooms upstairs. I paused at the top of the stairs, trying to hear what room the noise was coming from. It sounded like it was coming from my Dad's but as I got closer, it sounded like it was coming from mine.

I grabbed the closest thing to me, which happened to be a mop before opening the door. When I opened the door, I was shocked to say the least. Tate was standing on front of my bed, holding a pair of my underwear.

"Tate, what the hell are you doing in my room?"

He turned around and smirked, "I didn't picture you as an owner of sexy underwear."

I scoffed and grabbed them from his hand, shoving them back into the box they came from. "And I didn't picture you as a pervert, I guess both our judgments were a little off."

"It's not like you _tried_ to hide them, they were sitting out on your bed. I didn't exactly look around your room in search of them, did I?"

He climbed onto my bed, resting his hands behind his head. "I don't know, did you?"

"Maybe."

"Why are you in my room?" I asked, "Wait, how did you even get _in_ my room?"

He pointed to the window, "Your window was open, it's not exactly a ten foot jump from my room to yours."

"Right, that still doesn't explain why you decided to break into my Dad's house so late."

He rolled his eyes and groaned, "I didn't break in. Your window was open. It was practically asking me to come in."

"That still counts as breaking in, Tate."

"You girls are so dramatic, I swear, you have a reason to go ape shit at everything." He sat up and cleared his throat, "Oh my god Tate, you want me to go outside with you when it's raining. Do you have any idea how long it takes for me to get my hair sitting this way?" He was obviously trying to imitate a girl, his voice was higher than usual but still no where near as high as a girls voice.

I tried not to smile but I couldn't help it, "Right."

"Anyway, I should probably go. Addie will freak out if I'm not there to read her a bedtime story."

"Yeah, I still have a lot of stuff to unpack. It'll probably take all night."

He nodded before making his way back over to the window, "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Maybe."

He smirked, "Bye, Violet."

"Goodbye, Tate."


End file.
